Child Poverty In Canada

							    Child Poverty In Canada




Sanaz Farshchian
                        Outline
1. You Tube Video
2. Poverty Quiz
3. Child Poverty Statistics
4. Case Study: 2 sisters lived in poverty in Kitimat, B.C. In
     1994. 14 years later they are interviewed again.
5.   How we define
6.   How Poverty Affects Children
7.   The Idea of the “Western Child”
8.   Discussion questions
              Video & Quiz

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlmwuwhCsgM


 http://www.campaign2000.ca/quiz2/index.html
     Child Poverty Statistics
 Canada
  1 in 8 children- 788,000 - live in poverty when income is
   measured after income taxes. Before income taxes, 1 in 6
   or 1.13 million children live in poverty.
  Top 4 provinces suffering from child poverty is: British
   Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
                                    (campaign 2000)
  UNICEF ranks Canada 17th worst out of 23
   industrialized nations in terms of child poverty levels.
Poverty Across Canada
                          Case Study
 Children of Poverty: 14 years later
    In the Vancouver Sun in 1994 a 12 page article was done on “Children
       of Poverty”.
      Ayla Thompson and her sister Jasmine were featured in the article with
       their now deceased mother.
      They both grew up in extreme poverty and endured 27 different foster
       homes
      Their mother was a struggling addict.
      14 years later they were interviewed again; Jasmine is still in foster care
       and Ayla is married to Sean Thompson, 27; they have a 2 year old
       daughter and another baby on the way.
      Ayla and Jasmine say that they are breaking the cycle and will not allow
       their children to live in poverty.
      But not all children are as lucky as Ayla and Jasmine, their lives do not
       straighten out.
   Defining Poverty in Canada
 The Canadian government provides three primary measures of
  low income in Canada, none of which are officially endorsed as
  poverty lines
    Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-Off (LICO)
      Is defined as a family which spends more than 55% of its
       income on food, clothing and shelter

                                           Statistics Canada
Defining Poverty in Canada
 The Low Income Measure (LIM)
   Which is strictly relative measures of low income, set at
    50% of adjusted median family income.
 The Market Basket Measure (MBM)
   Addresses head-on for how much a family requires to
    meet basic needs




                                   Statistics Canada
  How Poverty Affects Children
Poverty brings with it many costs that have a long term
  influence on children:
   Poor nutrition, hunger
   Family stress, parental depression, reduced supports and
    family conflict
   Fewer resources for learning, lower quality child care,
    financial barriers for activities
   Crowded and dilapidated housing problems, homelessness,
    problem neighbourhoods, frequent moves, lack of safe
    places to play
                     The Urban Poverty Consortium of Waterloo Region
            The Western Child
 We are taught in Canada about the third world and how
  children are suffering from poverty and labour.
 A notion is put into our minds about the Western, first
  world child.
 Jefferess article “Neither Seen Nor Heard: The Idea of the
  “Child” as Impediment to the Rights of Children; explains
  this idea.
 Books like Iqbal are written about the other worlds, but
  where are the books about the children who are suffering
  right here in Canada
            The Western Child
 A boy named Craig Kielburger was inspired by Iqbal and
  organised “Free the Children”. He travels around the
  world visiting children and speaking out in defence of
  children's rights.
 Why are they not organizing something in Canada to teach
  Canadian children about their rights.
 Children who are suffering from poverty are not having
  their rights met.
 The 3 P’s (protection, Provision and Participation); they
  are not being met.
          Discussion Questions
1. How is the Idea of the western child related to the idea of
  the universal child?

2. Why are children suffering from poverty in such a rich
  country? Is it related to the children being kept powerless?